You can see all of them from after sunset into dusk.
For months, the planets have been putting on a show in the night sky. While Uranus and Neptune require a telescope to be seen, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, and Venus are visible to the naked eye. All six of these planets have been shining in the night sky, and last week, the final visible planet—Mercury—made its appearance.
With patience, clear skies, and a small telescope, you can spot all seven planets. If you don’t have a telescope, you can still see five of them. Even if the sky isn’t perfectly clear, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars should still be visible.
The key is to start just after sunset. Venus is the easiest to find, as it is both bright and relatively far from the Sun. If you draw an imaginary line from Venus to where the Sun set, you should spot two bright points near the horizon—Saturn and, slightly higher, Mercury. Neptune is in that area as well, so a telescope will be helpful. However, their low position on the horizon means atmospheric haze and clouds can make them tricky to see.
Next is Uranus, but first, let’s locate Jupiter. Unlike stars, planets do not twinkle. This is because stars appear as point sources of light, which the atmosphere bends more noticeably. Planets, on the other hand, are tiny disks, and their light is not as easily distorted.
Jupiter will be high in the sky. If you draw a line between Jupiter and Venus, Uranus can be found about one-third of the way between them, closer to Jupiter. Lastly, Mars will be in the east, recognizable by its distinctive red hue—caused by rust, though not quite in the way we originally believed.
Planets follow similar orbital paths along the ecliptic, and as they and Earth move around the Sun, their positions in the sky shift. It’s not uncommon to see several planets aligned either before dawn or after sunset, but having all of them on the same side of the Sun is a rare sight. In about three years, a similar alignment will occur, except Jupiter will be missing.
The next major planetary alignment of this kind will take place in early 2034. At that time, Venus and Mercury will be positioned near the Sun, while Jupiter, Mars, and Neptune will cluster together, with Uranus and Saturn farther apart. Some sources claim the next seven-planet alignment will happen in 2040, but that’s incorrect. However, the planetary display in August and September of that year will still be stunning, as all five visible planets will be clustered closely together.
There’s no single perfect date to view this event—any clear night will do—but this is the last week before Saturn sinks below the horizon.
